Praise for
New York Times bestselling author
B. J. DANIELS
“Daniels is truly an expert
at Western romantic suspense.”
—RT Book Reviews
on Atonement
“Will keep readers on the edge of their chairs from beginning to end.”
—Booklist on Forsaken
“Action-packed and chock-full of suspense.”
—Under the Covers on Redemption
“Fans of Western romantic suspense will
relish Daniels’ tale of clandestine love
played out in a small town on the Great Plains.”
—Booklist on Unforgiven
MERCY
The hunt for a killer leads to a battle between justice and desireFor U.S. marshal Rourke Kincaid, there's the law…and then there's his law. When the two don't agree, he always trusts his instincts. A killing spree has gripped the Northwest, showing a strange connection that only he sees, and now the old rules of justice no longer apply. Forced to turn rogue, he goes deep undercover to track his mysterious female suspect to a quiet, unassuming café in the wild, isolated mountains of Beartooth, Montana.
But encountering Callie Westfield complicates his mission in ways he never expected. As suspicious as she seems, her fragile beauty and sexy charm get to Rourke. Then the gory crimes begin anew. With his heart suddenly at war with his instincts, he has only two options. Either turn Callie over to the law, or put everything—including his badge and his life—on the line to protect her.
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ENJOY AN EXCERPT
CHAPTER NINE
There was no traffic on the two-lane north of Big Timber at
this time of
the night. Laura wasn’t that worried about deer on the highway either. There was an almost full moon that turned the landscape silver.
After driving in Seattle for so many years with traffic at all hours, day or
night, this was a treat.
She hadn’t been back to Montana since her mother
had awakened her in the middle of the night and rushed her downstairs
to an
old
pickup
waiting just outside. She’d never seen the man
behind the wheel
before or since. She just remembered her mother paying him when they reached the bus station in some distant town. Most of her life she hadn’t known even the name of the town where they’d moved to before her mother lost her job and they had to move again.
That time, when she’d awakened, they were in Michigan. When she asked what was going on,
her mother told her they were making a new start and she was never to mention the past again.
Tonight Rourke had been surprised to hear not only
that her mother
was alive, but also living nearby in a small Montana town. She shouldn’t be angry with him
for
knowing so little about her. When he’d first asked about her family,
she’d let
him think
her
mother
was
dead. She’d made the mistake of mentioning her sister,
Catherine, only once, but Rourke hadn’t forgotten.
He’d asked if she was coming for
a visit.
What he didn’t know was that she hated her sister’s visits. They were only once a year, fortunately. She couldn’t keep Catherine away longer.
She never talked about her family. Nor did she tell
anyone else.
She’d
put that life behind
her
years
ago.
But she especially didn’t
want Rourke knowing.
The
last
thing she wanted was his pity.
Given that she knew everything about him, it
did seem unfair that he knew nothing about her. He’d been
raised on a ranch in Wyoming. When his parents had re-
tired, they’d sold the ranch and left him enough money that he never had to work. When his parents were killed in a small-plane crash, he’d already graduated from col- lege, been working in law enforcement and had finally
crossed her path at the Seattle P.D.
If she was honest with herself, she’d always believed that fate had thrown the two of them together. Seeing
him again had
made
her
realize
that
she’d al- ways thought that someday they would be a
couple. She knew it
was
crazy
and
certainly the feeling was all on her side. Rourke had never had an interest in her other than as a cop. Why she’d thought that would
change, she had no idea.
It didn’t keep it from hurting, though. Her psychiatrist insisted
that
if she
told Rourke how she
felt, she
would finally be able to move past it.
Well, the best she could do
now
was to try to keep him alive, she thought as she came over a hill and saw
the rotating white blades of the Judith Gap wind farm in the distance.
Closer, she could see the lights of Harlowton, Montana, ahead. All her misgivings about coming here hit her in a rush. For all she knew, her mother was already
dead, taking her secrets with her.
Laura’s foot came up off the accelerator. It wasn’t
too late to turn around. Or she could get a
motel in town and get out of here tomorrow.
She felt that old tightening in her stomach at even
the thought of
seeing her mother. She didn’t want to be here. What was the point in
digging up all those bad memories?
Ahead, she saw the highway sign. Turn
around
or drive into the heart of the small Montana town to her mother’s house, where she couldn’t even
conceive what might be waiting for
her?
Rourke hadn’t been able to sleep after Laura left. He’d traveled light to Montana, so it hadn’t taken long to get settled into the
cabin. The fall night was still warm, although there was talk of an early winter storm com-
ing in later in the week.
Restless, he stepped out on the cabin porch into the
moonlit night. Laura’s visit had
left him shaken. So much of what she’d said made sense. So
why did all his instincts tell him she was wrong?
Knowing he
wasn’t going to
get
any sleep, he de- cided to go for a walk. As he headed down the mountain
into town, he looked at the small western community.
The old buildings shone in the moonlight. The café was closed, had been for hours. Nor were there any lights in
the
apartment
over it.
Callie
would
be asleep
like the other few residents
who
actually lived in
and
around
Beartooth. Even
the
Range
Rider bar was closed, al-
though several pickups were still parked out front.
Some of the cowboys must have hitched a ride home rather than drive.
As he was headed back up the main drag, he heard
an engine start up. A moment later, the glow of head-
lights poured out onto the two-lane highway that was
Beartooth’s main street.
Without thinking, he stepped back into the shadows as
the old pickup turned in his direction. He stayed pressed against one of
the old building’s stone walls as the driver passed.
Callie. He recognized
her
in the glow of
her
dash lights. Her hair was down, skimming her shoulders,
her face pale in the dim light.
Rourke cursed himself for being without his
own vehicle as he checked the time on his cell phone. Where
was the woman going at a quarter after three in the morning?
Stepping out of his hiding place, he watched her taillights grow dimmer and thought about Laura’s conviction that Callie was the killer he’d come looking for.
She touched her brakes at the end of town near the old gas station and garage. Turning, she headed back toward the Crazy Mountains.
Where did that road go? He didn’t know, but he planned to find out. Just as he would find out who she was going to meet in the wee hours of the morning up the mountain road.
He ran back to the cabin, jumped into his rented SUV
and took off down the road in the direction Callie had
gone. He kept thinking about the
first time he’d seen her. His reaction still surprised him. Was Laura right?
Was he obsessed with this woman and had been since he’d seen her face in a crime-scene photo?
If he was being honest, he’d had a theory since the
first time he’d seen her image and realized she’d been
at three crime scenes. He’d never thought she was a co-killer. But she was connected to
the murders be- cause she
knew
who the killer was. Why she
hadn’t come forward…well, he
didn’t know. Like
he said,
it was just a theory.
He couldn’t explain it, even to himself. Just this gut
feeling… He hadn’t shared his theory with Laura for
obvious reasons. She had made it clear how she felt. Both of their reasonings seemed clouded by their own
personal feelings. Laura really believed he was falling for this woman.
He shook
his
head at the thought as he drove. He’d
always trusted
his instincts. But at the back of his mind was an inkling of worry that he was wrong. Dead wrong.
Rourke reminded himself of what was at
stake as he turned and headed back into the Crazies, as the locals called
the
mountains that shadowed
the
town of
Beartooth. The gravel road narrowed quickly, turning to dirt. He had to slow down. When he came to a fork in the road, he stopped, unsure which route she would
have taken since he didn’t know the area.
He tried the road to the right since it
appeared to go deeper into the thickest wooded side of the moun- tains,
but a few miles up the 4x4 trail,
he finally had to turn around. The area was a honeycomb of old log-
ging roads. She could have taken any one of
them.
As he drove back to his cabin, he realized he wasn’t so sure about his theory anymore. Laura could be right. That sweet-faced woman who haunted his dreams could very well be a serial killer who, since it was almost October, was now
looking for
her next victim.
Or she could be somewhere in those mountains with
the man who did her killing for her. In that case, who
had she already chosen for
her next victim?
THE AUTHOR
B.J. Daniels wrote her first book
after a career as an award-winning newspaper journalist and author of
thirty-seven published short stories.
That first book, Odd Man Out,
received a 4 ½-star review from Romantic Times magazine and went on to
be nominated for Best Intrigue for that year.
Since then she was won numerous
awards including a career achievement award for romantic suspense and numerous
nominations and awards for best book.
Daniels lives in Montana with her
husband, Parker, and two springer spaniels, Spot and Jem. When she isn't
writing, she snowboards, camps, boats and plays tennis.
She is a member of Mystery Writers
of America, Sisters in Crime, Thriller Writers, Kiss of Death and Romance
Writers of America.
